Pablo Ibáñez
02/24/2020 - 19:19
- Clarín.com
- Politics
There is a drawing, an eraser, that Luis Basterra, will bring you closer to the dome of the Liaison Office. It consists, in the rough, of a 3-point increase in soybean withholdings with a compensation scheme for other crops.
Alberto Fernández anticipated it, weeks ago, to rural leaders and now appears on the menu of possible announcements during the speech before Congress on March 1, according to Clarín official sources confirm.
They will seek to show it, a priori , as a package of measures linked to production: a rise in soybeans with losses in other crops, promotional measures for regional economies and segmentation for medium and small producers.
Alberto Fernández met with the Liaison Bureau.
The Government argues that the crisis situation requires carrying, only for soybeans, the withholdings to the 33 points that were established as a ceiling through the Emergency Law that was voted at the end of last year.
The President delegated to Basterra the conversations with the entities of the field while the fiscal account is exposed by Martín Guzmán who hastened the conversations with the IMF.
A fact that they remember in Casa Rosada is that the Fund defends the appeal of the withholdings that, in fact, it was proposed at the time to Mauricio Macri and Nicolás Dujovne when the previous government reinstated the withholdings although fixed and pesified.
In the Government, the increase in retentions is already a decision taken, although Fernández will finish resolving whether he includes it as part of his speech in Congress or not.
"The President anticipated the decision and it has to be done in this context of crisis, but taking into account small producers," they say in Fernández's environment that he maintains open dialogue with the entities that are threatening force measures if the measure is specified.
Although the final format is still analyzed, the intention is to bring 33% withholdings to soybeans and reduce those that apply to other crops such as wheat.
Agriculture Minister Luis Basterra enters the Government House. Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
Fernández prepares, in parallel, for a critical stance of the field entities. Some leaders were, last week, at Casa Rosada. There is dialogue but the Government understands that there are complaints from the liaison table.
"Nobody likes to raise taxes, but the situation is delicate," they point out in Casa Rosada and argue that Fernández, since it was seen after the PASS in Mexico Street with the ruralists, transmits the same thing: they will find out about the measures "through newspapers" and that there will be a dialogue table.
"We are going to find a way to compensate the smaller producers, we are working on that. That is what Minister Basterra is working on," says a government source that follows the issue in detail.